Bedford County officials accept domestic abuse funds from stimulus

BEDFORD — After debating the merit of the economic stimulus package, the Bedford County Board of Supervisors voted Monday to accept a federal grant that will benefit the county’s domestic violence program.

Bedford Domestic Violence Services, a division of social services, received nearly $79,000 in grant money from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. The funding is considered a one-time opportunity and is authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Violence Against Women Act, according to a resolution supervisors voted 5-2 to approve Monday.

Supervisor Steve Arrington, who has been consistent in his opposition to any funding connected to the stimulus package, voted against it along with Chairman John Sharp.

“We’re printing money we don’t have,” Arrington said of the

stimulus. “This debt is going to be passed to our children and grandchildren and the unborn ... I think it’s morally wrong.”

The grant would be used to hire a full-time trained domestic violence advocate to respond to calls on a hotline through the program.

Leighton Langford, director of social services, said the hotline received more than 4,000 calls from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009.

“We need to have an individual to answer these calls,” Langford said. “It does do a wonderful service to the community.”

Supervisor Dale Wheeler said he could understand having philosophical disagreements with the stimulus.

“You are creating a job,” Wheeler said of the grant’s impact. “I do think the times we live in are going to create more domestic violence ... the economy is putting us in a sad situation here. It may even be worse next year. That’s what is scaring me the most.”

Supervisor Chuck Neudorfer said he has come to a realization that money from the federal stimulus will be spent “in some fashion, some place, somewhere.” If he could capture some of it to bring to Bedford County, he said he would vote to do so.

“I’m concerned once it’s funded, you get accustomed to having it,” Sharp said. “Then it gets taken away.”

The position is set to be funded through December 2010, according to the resolution. Langford said the department would not approach the board for local tax dollars to continue funding it after that point.

In other news:

Supervisors voted unanimously to authorize the execution of a contract for Laughon & Johnson Inc. of Bedford to realign Hendricks Store Road with Virginia 122 in Moneta. The county is working with the Virginia Department of Transportation to move the project along, which County Administrator Kathleen Guzi said would accomodate plans of developers who plan to build a Food Lion Shopping Center. The estimate for the roadwork was more than $1 million, Guzi said. The county received a dozen responses from firms making bids ranging from a low of $491,000 to a high of $720,000. The board approved the contract to the lowest bidder. “It is indicative of the bidding environment and how desperate they are,” Guzi told board members.

Also, the board voted to accept a recommendation from the Bedford County Planning Commission to allow Saunders Volunteer Fire Department in Huddleston to expand its building size. The addition alleviates space issues at the department, which serves the Smith Mountain Lake area.